Printing machine structure



pl'il 24, 1934. J, L, BARBER 1,956,089

PRINTING MACHINE STRUCTURE [Wwf/7507' JasEP/f4E/1HBKR 5.2/

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April 24, 1934. J. L. BARBER PRINTING MACHINE STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Deo.

figa inw/77502 dasEPf/A BHFEEE April 24, 1934- J. L. BARBER 1,956,089

PRINTING MACHINE STRUCTURE Filed Dec. 24, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 VWM Jl Jag. z

In dfmof Patented Apr. 24, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 19 Claims.

This invention relates to a printing machine such as used to make photographic prints from negatives such as lilms or plates. Such machines are now largely used, especially in places which do commercial developing and printing of photographs.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a simple and eicient machine having improved means for handling a print and lm and for receiving the same after the print is made.

It is another object of the invention to provide a machine having a printing surface, means for holding a negative on said surface, means for holding a print or piece of print paper on said surface or negative, a receptacle movable into position to receive said print or negative, and common means under the control of the operator for releasing said negative and moving said receptacle.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a printing machine having a printing surface, a platen movable to and from said surface for holding a print during the printing operation, and means for holding a print before the platen engages the same, which means is preferably removed from holding position by said platen.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a printing machine having a support including a printing surface, which surface slopes downwardly, means for holding a negative and print in position, said support having an opening below said surface to which said print may slide when released and be guided to a suitable container', together with a receptacle which is movable over said opening into position to receive said negative and into which said negative may slide when released.

o It is a further object of the invention to provide a printing machine having a support including a printing surface, means for holding a negative on said surface, a receptacle movable into position to receive prints or negatives sliding down surface when released, together with a common means for actuating said means for holding said negative said receptacle.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following g description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer te similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the printing machine;

Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, said section being taken through the printing surface;

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the machine shown in Fig. 1, some parts being broken away and others shown in lior'montal section;

Fig. 4 is a partial plan view, some parts being broken away;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken substantially on line 5 5 of Fig. 3 as indicated by the arrow; 65

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a portion of the machine adjacent the printing surface as seen when viewed at right angles to said printing surface;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken on line 7 7 70 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, showing the parts in a different position; and

Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken on line 9--9 of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings, a printing machine is shown comprising a frame structure having the side supports 11 supporting at their upper ends a frame structure 12 which includes a table 13, an upright frame structure 14, and a printing surface 15. A lamp and reflector 16 are shown as supported by the frame structure 14 above the printing surface 15. The printing surface 15 slopes downwardly toward the front of the table 13 at an angle of about 45. The printing 85 surface, as is customary, includes a glass transparent plate 15a having guide members 17 at one side illustrated as the left side and the top thereof, on which are slidable the members 18 from which project flat bars or masks 18a extending 90 at right angles to each other. The members 18a are usually made of steel which is very thin.

A negative holder and print guide or gauge 19 is shown comprising arms extending at right angles to each other, one of which is parallel to one member 18a and the other of which is parallel to the other member 18a. These arms of member 19 have vertical surfaces against which the print may be placed. Member 19 is carried on a slide 20 which is slidable in spaced parallel 100 guides 21 in a direction diagonally of members 18a and in a direction substantially bisecting the angle between said members. Member 20 is `movable toward and from the plate 15a by the handle 22. The guide members 21 are mounted 105 to be moved about the common axis of a pair of screws 23 having pointed ends seated in recesses in the guides 21. A plate 24 extends rearwardly from the guides 21 having a handle 25 adjacent its rear end by means of which the guides 21 can 110 15b and be guided by chute 42 be moved about the axis of screws 22. A rod 26, to be later described, extends through an upstanding hollow bushing 27 on plate 24 having a head 27a adapted to engage the top of casing 27. A spring 23 tends raise the plate 24 and thus to rnove member 19 downwar ly into negative holding position. A platen 29 is provided, of general rectangular forni, which is movable toward and from the plate 15:1, and members 13a by a link mechanism 30. The platen operating mechanism forros no of the present invention and need not be .er specifically described, tie saine being substantially as shown in applicants prior application Ser. No. 495,656, led Nov. 14, 1930, now Pat 1,385,055.

In accordance with this invention, a print or print paper holding device is pro ided, including a nger 3l illustrated as cylindrical form and having inserted in its lower and print engaging end, a piece or rubber or rubber-like *naterial 32. Member l is carried on a lever arni 33 pivoted on a pivot 34 carried in a bracket 35 secured to the surface l5. Bracket 35 a forwardly projecting arin having a top horizontal surface and a plate 36 engages said surface and is slidable longitudinally thereof forwardly and rearwardly and retained in place by a pair of screws 37 passing through elongated slots 36a in plate 36. Plate 36 has a laterally extending handle or linger piece 365 extending i. .lwardly therefrom and having a concave iront surface. A spring 38 is provided having an opstanding U- shaped portion engaging the rear end of iplate 36 and having coiled portions therein in the rear of bracket forwardly extending ends disposed about the pivot 34, one of said ends extending alongside of bracket 35 and the other alongside of the opposite side of lever 33.

Said spring also has a forwardly projecting portion 38D having its end bent over the top of lever 33. Spring 38 tends normally to rnove plate 36 forwardly and also tends to nieve lever 33 downwardly. Lever 33 has a laterally extending cani lug 33a projecting at one side and adapted to engage the recessed front end 36e of plate 36. When lever 33 rises, earn 33a nieves plate 36 back and plate 36 then is moved forward by spring 38 beneath lug 33a The lever 33 has its forward end provided with a convex surface ei:-

' tending forwardly and downwardly. Finger 31 projects through an opening 29CJ in the rear side of the platen 29 when in print holding position. Said platen has a small dog 39 secured thereto by a screw 4G about which entends a torsion spring 41 having one end engaging the front side of dog 39 to hold it normally in the position shown in Fig. 6 and its other end secured to platen 29. The dog 39 can thus oscillate against the tension of spring 4l.

At the lower end of the printing surface 15 an opening or well 15b is p1 vided, having an inner vertical wall extending up to the surface 15. A chute 42 has its upper end disposed under the opening or well 15b and extends laterally downwardly to the outer side of one of said supports 11 where its discharge end is disposed over the side of the container 43 secured by brackets 44 to the said support l1. A print or other object sliding down surface 15 may drop into the opening into the container or box 43. .a pair of guides comprising spaced angles 45 are provided beneath table 13 and supported by freine 12 having horizontal nanges `which forni supports and guiding ineens for a really disposed at one side of the opening 15b but the saine is movable inwardly so that its inner side engages the inner wall of opening 15b so that it is disposed directly below and beneath the lower end of surface 15. When the receptacle is thus in its inner position, opening 15b is closed by said receptacle and a negative or other object sliding down surface 15 will pass into receptacle 46. It will be noted that the inner side of receptacle 46 projects above the other sides, so that its top edge is substantially at the lower edge ofA surface l5 when said receptacle is in its inner position. Receptacle 46 has a stud projecting downwardly from its under side which passes through a slot 47a in a lever 47 extending laterally and pivoted by pivot 48 to the frame 12. Lever 47 has an offset intermediate its ends adjacent receptacle 46 so as to pass t ereoeneat'n. Adjacent said offset said lever is provided with an opening 475 into which projects the downturned end of a rod 49 extending rearwardly from said lever and passing at its rear end through an opening in a downturned arm of lever 50. rEhe rear end of rod 4.9 is threaded and has disposed thereon a nut 51 normally engaging the outer side of lever 59. Rod 49 has a collar 52 secured thereon and a compression coil spring 53 engages said collar and the forward side of lever 5G. The lever 56 extends upwardly and rearwardly and is Vpivoted by a horizontal pivot to brackets 54 secured to the rear upstanding wall of a freine 14. A tensile coil spring 55 is secured to the lower end of lever 59 and has its forward end secured to the inner side of Irhe front portion of frame 12. The rod 26 already referred to extends downwardly and rearwardly and is pivoted to the lever 59 adjacent bracket 54. lever 50 also has pivot-ed thereto just forwardly of rod 26 the upper bifurcated end of member 56 from which a rod 56a extends downwardly and forwardly and is connected intermediate the ends of treadle lever 57 pivoted at its rear end by a horizontal pivot to bracket 6l also secured to the rear wall of the device. The lever 57 has a treadle 57d at its forward end projecting at the front of the machine in position to be conveniently engaged by the foot of the operator. A lever 53 is pivoted about a vertical pivot 59 beneath the table 13 and has a rear arm with a curved laterally extending end 53a adapted to engage the front side of lever 47. Lever 58 has a front handle arrn by which it can be manipulated. Another treadle 60 is shown for controlling the operation of the platen 29.

In operation before a negative and print are placed in the machine, the machine wil1 be in the position shown in Fig. l. The platen is oscillated or reciprocated by mechanism (not shown) and this is usually done by a power mechanism controlled by treadle 60 Duing a printing operation the platen is pressed down on the print and negative holding there. perfectly flat against the printing surface. At this time the platen occupies a position shown in Fig. 5. When the platen 29 lifts, the dog 39 which is disposed under the end of the lever 33 engage lever 33 at the horizontal under side of its front end and lifts the same against the tension of spring 33D. As lever 33 is lifted, lug 33a engages the front portion 36D of plate 36 and said plate is moved rearwardly against the tension of spring 33 until lug 33a passes above said plate, after which plate 36 snaps forwardly under the pressure of spring 38 and lug 33a rests on the top of plate 36. If a new negative is to be placed in position, the operator lli) gli)

can press down on knob or handle and lift member 19. The negative is then placed in position on the printing surface and member 19 is allowed to move down on the negative by the pressure of spring 28 and the negative is held in position. A piece of printing paper is now placed over the negative, this paper usually being of rectangular form, and it is gauged in position by member 19. The piece of paper or print is quickly placed in position and the operator presses rearwardly on the handle 36h, moving plate 36 rearwardly and moving its edge 36e from beneath lug 33a. Spring 38D now causes the lever 33 to descend and finger 31 and its rubber tip 32 engage the print holding it in position. The platen mechanism is now operated and the platen descends, holding the print and negative. The printing lights (not shown) are illuminated and the printing takes place. When the printing operation is finished and the platen again lifts, finger 3l and lever 33 are raised as already described and the print is released. The print slides down the printing surface into the opening 15b, drops into the chute 42 and is guided thereby into the container 43. If the negative is to be released, the operator presses on treadle 57a, pulling down on rod 56a and member 56, swinging lever 50, thus pulling on rod 49 and moving receptacle 46 into position beneath printing surface 15. The movement of lever also pulls downward on rod 26, member 19 is lifted and the negative is released. The nega-tive now also slides down the printing surface 15 and drops into receptacle 46. A new negative can now be placed in position and the operation repeated. When the platen moves downward after the operator has released lever 33 to hold the print, dog 39 moves downwardly over the curved front surface of lever 33 and is swung forwardly by said surface, moving against the tension of spring 41. After the dog passes lever 33, spring 41 again returns it to the position shown in Fig. 6.

It is sometimes desired to receive both the prints and negatives in receptacle 46. If this is the case, the operator pushes on the front arm of lever 58 and swings portion 58a against lever 47. This moves lever 47 rearwardly and moves receptacle 46 into position beneath the printing surface 15. Lever 58 has its inner arm extending substantially perpendicular to lever 47 and will remain in this position, which position is shown in Fig. 5. When this is done, rod 49 is pushed inwardly with lever 47 and spring 53 is pressed by collar 52, moving toward lever 50. The end of rod 49 merely projects beyond lever 50 as shown in Fig. 5. The receptacle 46 being held in this inward position, does not interfere with the operation of treadle lever 57. Lever 50 merely moves idly on rod 49.

From the above description it is seen that applicant has provided a simple and efficient mechanism, by means of which the print is held in position until the platen descends, and has also produced simple and eiiicient means for oper.- ating the film or negative holder, as well as means for quickly receiving and collecting the prints and films. The film holder is lifted simultaneously and with the same operation that the nlm collecting receptacle is moved into receiving position. With the described mechanism, the operator can make the prints very rapidly. It will be understood that in most cases more than one print will be made from the same negative. The provision of the print holding finger 31 makes it possible to have the printing surface slope at a decided angle, as it is not necessary to keep the print in position by gravity until engaged by the platen. This results both in increased speed and in more accurate positioning of the print. The print does not have to lie in position loosely until engaged by the platen. The operator can also remove her hands entirely before the platen descends. The device has been amply demonstrated in actual practice, and found to be very successful and efficient.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above Set forth, in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and dened in the appended claims.

What is claimed isz- 1. A photographic printing machine having in combination, a support on which the paper is placed to be printed, a platen movable to engage said paper on said support, a finger for holding said paper before being engaged by said platen, said finger comprising a rod extending substantially at right angles to said support when in paper-holding position and means for moving said linger' into engagement with said paper.

2. A printing machine having in combination, a support on which the paper is placed to be printed, a platen movable to engage said paper on said support, means for moving said platen, a iinger for holding said paper before being engaged by said platen, spring means for urging said finger into engagement with said paper, means for holding said finger out of such engagement, and manually operated means independent of said iirst mentioned means for releasing said finger to permit it to engage said paper.

3. A printing machine 'having in combination, a support on which the paper is placed to be printed, a platen movable to engage said paper on said support, a finger for holding said paper before being engaged by said platen, means on said platen for lifting said finger as the platen is lifted, and means for holding said finger so lifted, and means adjacent said finger movable by the operator for releasing said finger from said last mentioned means to permit it to engage said paper.

4. A printing machine having in combination, a support on which the paper is placed to be rinted, a platen movable to engage said paper on said support, a finger for holding said paper until engaged by said platen, a dog on said #laten for lifting said finger as said platen is lifted, resilient means engaging said dog, a support for said finger having' a cam over which dog passes and is moved against the tension or" said resilient means as said platen is lowered, said dog being moved into position by said resilient means to engage said linger support and raise said finger when said platen is raiser.

5. A printing machine having in combination, a support upon which the print paper placed while being printed, said support sloping downwardly, means for holding said paper on said support while being printed, said machine ccmprising an opening therein below said support, receptacle out of vertical alinement with opening for receiving prints and a chute leading from said opening into said receptacle from a point below said opening whereby when said print is released it will slide into said chute and into said receptacle and a second receptacle adjacent said opening adapted to be moved to receive negatives from said support.

6. A printing machine having in combination, a support for receiving a print while being printed, said support sloping downwardly, means for holding said print on said support while being printed, said support having an opening below said printing surface into which said print may slide when released, means for directing a print passing into said opening to a container, and a receptacle movable into said opening whereby said print may if desired slide into said last mentioned receptacle.

7. A printing machine having in combination, a support having a printing surface sloping downwardly, ieans for holding a nlm in printing position over said surface, means for holding a print in printing position over said surface, said machine having an opening below said printing surface through which the print may drop when released, and a receptacle movable over said opening into position to receive said nlm when released.

S. A printing machine having in combination, a supe-ort having a printing surface sloping downwardly, means for holding a negative in printing position over said surface, means for holding a print in printing position over said surface, a platen movable into engagement with said print, means on said platen for raising said last mentioned means to release said print when said platen is raised, a receptacle for receiving said print and into which it may slide when released, and a receptacle movable into position to receive said negative when said negative is release 9. A printing machine having in combination, a support having a printing surface sloping downwardly, means for holding a negative in printing position over said surface, means for holding a print in printing position over said surface, said support having means for receiving said print when released, a receptacle movable into position to receive said negative when released, and a common means for moving said receptacle, and means for holding said negative.

10. A printing machine having in combination, a support having a printing surface sloping ownwardly, meansy for holding a negative in rinting position on said printing surface, means or holding a print in printing position over said rinting surface, said machine having an opening below said surface through which said print may drop when released, a container for receiving said print, means for directing said print from said opening to said container, and areceptacle movable over said opening and into position to receive said negative when released, said negative and said print sliding down said surface by gravity.

11. A printing machine having in combination, a support having a printing surface sloping downwardly, means for holding a negative in printing position over said surface, means for holding a print in printimT position over said surface, said machine having an opening below said surface to which said print may slide by gravity when released and through which it may pass, a receptacle slidable over said opening to position below said surface so that said negative can slide into said receptacle when released, and means for holding said receptacle constantlv in position over said opening so that both prints and negatives will slide tLereinto.

19. A printing machine having in combination, a support disposed some dista-nce above the floor and having a printing surface sloping downwardly, means for holding a negative in printing position over said surface, means for holding a print in printing position over said surface, manually controlled means for permitting said last mentioned means to engage said print, a receptacle movable into position below said surface to receive negatives or prints when released, and a treadle adjacent the bottom of said machine for controlling said means for holding said negatives and said receptacle.

13. A printing machine having in combination, a support having a printing surface sloping downwardly, means for holding a negative in printing position over said printing surface, a receptacle movable into position to receive said negative when it is released, and a common means for actuatingr said negative holding means to release said negative and moving said receptacle into r ceiving position.

14. A photographic printing machine having in combination, a support on which the paper is placed to be printed, a member for holding a print in printing position on said support, means for raising said member, means for holding said member in raised position aiter the printing operation, means tending to move said member to print holdin?r position, and a trip member movable by the operator for moving said last mentioned means to release said member and permit the same to be moved to print holding position.

l5. A photographic printing machine having in combination, a support on which the paper is placed to be printed, a resiliently operated inember for engaging and holding said print in prin*- ing position on said support, means for holding said member in raised inoperative position, and a trip member movable by the operator for releasing said member to permit it to move to print holding position.

16. A printing machine having in combination, a support having print ..i, surface sloping downwardly, means for holding a negative in printing position over said surface, means for holding a print in printing position over said surface, a container into which said print is moved when released, and a receptacle movable into negative receiving position into which said negative is moved when released.

17. A printing machine having in combination, a. support on which the paper is placed to be printed, a platen movable to engage said paper on said support, said platen having an opening at one side thereof, a finger for holding said paper before being engaged by said platen extending through said opening and disposed substantially vertically to said support when in paper-holding position, means urging said finger into engagement with said papel', means for holding said nger out of such engagement and means adapted to be actuated oy the operator for releasing said nger to permit it to engage said paper.

18. A printing machine having in combination,

a support on which the paper is placed to be said paper printed, a platen movable to engage on said support, means for holding paper before being engaged by said platen, said means comprising a rod extending substantially at right angles to said support when in paper-holding posuch engagement and a finger piece adapted to be actuated by the operator for releasing said latch to permit said rod to engage said paper.

19. A printing machine having in combination, a support on which the paper is placed to be printed, a platen movable to engage said paper on said support, said platen having an opening JOSEPH L. BARBER. 

